Crocodile tears
by Vianerd
Summary: -BASED ON THE ANIMATED SERIES- "I'm a villain…" he whispered, forgetting his plan for a short moment. "…Then what's this warm and fuzzy feeling?" Oneshot. Short, sweet, and extremely fluffy.


_I've lost everything._

That single thought was occupying his mind. Of course, it was mostly dramatization. For he did not lose everything… but he thought it certainly felt like such. King K. Rool growled to himself as he slumped to his hideout, battered and bruised from being launched over the jungle by one of those cursed trigger-barrel traps. It was not very late, but the sun was already starting to set over the lush jungles of Kongo Bongo Island, and he was alone. He had to suppress a yawn as he slid into his private inner sanctum unnoticeably, brooding on his next plan already.

He sat himself down on his – admittedly small – throne and propped up his head with a free claw. He sighed loudly.  
_What am I doing wrong?_ He asked himself. After all, he's been after the Crystal Coconut for a good three years, but as of now all his attempts had been futile. He began thinking of his close comrades – Krusha and Klump. His mind wandered and eventually ended up with Klump's short-lived alliance with Dixie Kong, whom he had met when he was blubbering in the woods after an over-emotional banishment.  
No… not an alliance, a friendship. K. Rool frowned and made a disdainful 'Tssk!' sound at the idea. _Friendship. Who needs it? It's a lot more useful when people fear you!_ Though awfully pessimistic, the King had enough reasons to think this. The few long-lasting friendships he was involved in all ended dramatically. And Klump's clingy attitude towards him he found annoying rather than endearing most of the time.  
Though as he was silently mulling over his dislike on friendships and other soppy things, a dark, sinister plan brewed in his mind. It was a cruel plan, and he knew it was going to put him on even worse terms with the Kongs this time. But he didn't care, for he was certain of himself – he would get the Crystal Coconut. This time. It was an evil, downright wretched plan.  
But nobody was gonna stop him.

He slipped into the jungles again. Wandering around for a minute, he heard a noise. Peeking through the bushes carefully, he saw nobody but little Dixie Kong making her way through the dense undergrowth, probably on her way to meet with one of her pets. Hook, line, and sinker. K. Rool plopped down on a nearby tree trunk and began to put his plan into effect – he started sobbing. Fake sobbing, but it sounded awfully convincing. It didn't take long before Dixie poked her little head through a bush, looking at the blubbering King for a short while. K. Rool turned his head around to face her. Still doing his best to look and sound as pathetic as he could, he uttered; "Why are you spying on me…?"  
"I'm not spying! I just heard you crying, and, well…" Dixie looked around nervously for a bit before emerging from the bush. "…Is something the matter, K'Rool?"  
It was unbelievable. Although Kongs and lizards weren't on good terms at all, to put it lightly, she still sounded like she actually cared about the sobbing 'gator for a while. Still, she sounded careful and wary, but she cared, just like she cared for Klump way back.  
"Something's indeed the matter," K. Rool whined in between very convincing fake sobs. "I… everybody hates me! All they ever see is some fat reptile who steals things… I'm sick and tired of it!"  
He cupped his face with his claws.  
"Oh?" Dixie said. She wasn't very close to K. Rool, both literally and figuratively at the moment. But she tilted her head in concern. "Can I help you in any way, highness?"  
"Oh, no… I'd say… I– I–…" He sobbed again. "I need someone to not hate me!"  
Sob. Sob. He was doing a fairly convincing job at this. Dixie didn't seem to notice his tears were but crocodile tears, as ironic as it sounds, and neared a bit closer.  
"How do I know I can trust you…?" she asked. She had her suspicions, and justly so. After all, King K. Rool made life for everyone on Kongo Bongo exceptionally hard, with his constant tendency to steal their prized possessions.  
"Look into my eyes," K. Rool stuttered, his voice thick with fake tears. He raised his eyes and blinked a few times. His left eye bulged and twitched – a very unsettling tic he had for as long as he could remember. Though in spite of this, he still managed to put up his best innocent face.  
"I'm honest, I swear… honestly!"  
Dixie went even closer. Certainly, she didn't see any of that evil glimmer he used to have in those big eyes of his this time. She gave a small, sincere smile.  
"Promise me you won't steal the Coconut?"  
K. Rool nodded and stood up from the trunk, making a small gesture in front of his chest. "Cross my heart and hope to die – I mean, fly."  
"I'll be your friend."  
Dixie Kong's smile grew and she held out her arms.  
_Hugging? Nobody told me there'd be hugs involved! I don't have time for this!_ K. Rool wasn't sure how to react. But if he said anything rude, his plan would fall into pieces. He silently but begrudgingly accepted the hug, though knew better than to say anything negative about it.  
As he held young Dixie over his shoulder, a small, evil grin spread upon his scaly lips. Time for plan B. But…  
He found himself drawing a blank. What was plan B again?  
He'd forgotten. Instead, it almost seemed as if a small, warm fire ignited from within him. It warmed him up over his whole body. It felt… comforting. He lost his maniacal grin and put Dixie on the ground again.  
This was weird. This was unnatural. And yet… K. Rool began fondling himself. He held out his hands in front of him, looking at them in concern.  
"I'm a villain…" he whispered, forgetting his plan for a short moment. "…Then what's this warm and fuzzy feeling?"  
Dixie had no idea what the King was going through. She just believed he was going through some tough times and that he needed some encouragement. His evil plan completely went over her head. She smiled once again, ever so sweetly.  
"That's just your heart, mister K'Rool."  
"M– my heart…?" K. Rool mumbled. He raised two shaky claws which he folded over his chest. It was then when he smiled – a small, happy smile, devoid of all evil. He had forgotten the last time he smiled like this.  
"Let me listen," Dixie said as she gently pushed his large claws away. Her head was about as big as one of his clawed hands – K. Rool wasn't very big for lizard standards, but Dixie was very small. She heard things about these bad guys – that they had no heart. Sure, it was a figure of speech, but she still wanted to check. The young monkey girl laid her head on the portly reptile's chest and listened.  
K. Rool couldn't even utter a single word. She stayed like this for a moment before pulling her head back, looking up at him.  
"I heard your heartbeat." She said. Still smiling. "It's very loud. I bet it's big."  
"Really?" The King was at a loss of words. "You sure it's not…?"  
"You've got a big heart, K'Rool. Better believe it."  
Again, he managed to smile. But something in the back of his head was buzzing. What happened to his evil plan? He did not even remember what he was going to do in the first place. All that was on his mind now was that warm and fuzzy feeling.  
Crack! A thunderclap sounded. Small raindrops dropped down from the sky, dampening the forest floor and foliage. Dixie gave a little yelp and pulled at K. Rool's claw.  
"Whoa, easy now!" he said, but she insisted he would follow her. He obliged. The two hid under a large leaf, presumably some kind of jungle plant. They were silent for a bit, listening to the rain drops make a clatter on the tall jungle trees. Finally, Dixie Kong said something.  
"You know, K'Rool – I don't really have a lot of friends. I tend to turn to my pets."  
"Oh… but what were you doing in the jungle at this hour?"  
"Visiting my pets." She grinned awkwardly. "I've got a few of them too big to be contained in cages."  
"Ah. ..How many friends do you have?"  
"There's Diddy, but he doesn't really seem to care about me. I think he's a bit shy around girls."  
"Yeah. Tell me about it. Guys tend to be like that."  
An awkward silence fell. _What was that supposed to mean? _K. Rool silently cursed at himself for that stupid comment. He rolled his eyes and saw little Dixie shivering from the cold. Granted, it was a rather unpleasant cold evening.  
Sighing, he took a decision.  
He took off his short cape and draped it over her small, shaking figure. Though awkwardly short for the King, it was a perfect fit for the monkey. She seemed confused at first but eventually smiled, snuggling up close to the King 'gator, who didn't mind the cold at all.  
The Crystal Coconut wasn't even on his mind anymore. Neither was his plan.  
"Hey… about my heart, huh?" he muttered softly.  
"What about it?"  
"Is it really that big?"  
"Biggest." Dixie only said, closing her eyes. "About as big as that belly of yours."  
"I'm not that fat…" K. Rool pouted, gripping onto a side of his large, firm gut. _But then, she had a point._  
He couldn't believe he initially wanted to use her as a mere foil to get the Crystal Coconut. Now she was snuggling up to him as if he were a big, fanged teddy bear.  
The thought brought tears to his eyes. Not crocodile tears this time. These tears were genuine tears – tears of happiness. He smiled, not a thought of anything evil clouding his mind – for once.

_Friendship? I could get used to it._


End file.
